YSK: You should dry off beef before cooking. Doing so promotes the Maillard Reaction, which will make the meat taste and look better.
seriouseats.com
Why YSK: When you cook meat, any water on the surface must first evaporate before much browning can occur. You want to get as much of a Maillard reaction as possible in the limited cooking time you have before the meat reaches the correct internal temperature. Removing the moisture first means that the heat of the cooking surface isn't wasted on evaporation and can instead interact with the meat to form the complex sugars and proteins of the Maillard reaction.
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If you don't have the time (or the foresight) to salt it hours ahead, the next best alternative is to salt RIGHT before cooking. If you salt 10-30 minutes before, osmosis will draw moisture out of the meat, which will then either be wiped away or evaporated. Salting hours ahead of time gives the moisture time to diffuse back into the meat with the salt it dissolved.
This is the right tip. If you can't dry brine with salt overnight, then salt right before you hit heat.
That being said, give me a 24 dry brine plus reverse sear any day.
Absolutely. Long dry brine is the preferred method, but if you just remember an hour before it's rime to cook, it's better to wait until just before it goes in the pan.
I personally prefer just straight on the pan after a dry brine instead of reverse sear, but that's probably because I prefer it cooked rare.
And ALWAYS rest your meat after cooking it before slicing into it for 10 minutes or so